Ark, 2025-10-27
”I love working with developers delivering multi-year projects that reshape cities in thoughtful ways.”
Story first, strategy second. Meet Patrick — a London-born content strategist and word smith, helping real estate and finance leaders find clarity through storytelling, from his Workclub-desk at Börshuset in Slaktis.
Hi Patrick! Your 20-second elevator line — what do you do?
– I help companies in real estate, finance and investing build influence through content – developing strategies that lead to beautifully designed, long-form articles, reports and magazines.
What’s the best part of your job?
– Many business leaders still see content as an output – something produced far from the boardroom. But done well, it’s a tool for forming strategy. By putting the story first – interviewing experts, analyzing data and shaping narratives – leadership teams often gain clarity about their own direction. The impact can be transformational.
It’s no different from our personal lives: when we talk through challenges with people we trust, we often find clarity of thought. The best part of my job is seeing a content-led project spark an enduring shift in a company’s thinking.
Where do you find your inspiration?
– From the people I interview. I’m lucky to speak with experts and academics who are constantly breaking new ground. Their subjects are fascinating, but it’s often the personal stories that inspire me the most – tales of grit, curiosity or unconventional thinking. People are full of surprises.
Where does AI help — and where do you shut the door and write?
– It’s brilliant at eliminating writer’s block. After four or five hours, when I start to slow down, I can feed it half an idea and it makes sensible suggestions that help me keep going. But it can’t create the initial spark – that turn of phrase or creative idea that takes something from average to great.
A word you delete on sight — and what you use instead?
– “Learnings.” It’s “lessons”.
What does the rest of 2025 look like for you?
– The final quarter is always my busiest. I’ll be advising companies listed on the Swedish stock exchange on strategy for their annual reports, and several US and UK clients are lining up major reports and magazines for spring, which means winter is full of research and interviews.
What’s the dream assignment — and who’s the dream client?
– I love working with developers delivering multi-year projects that reshape cities in thoughtful ways. The ones who understand that people reject change when they don’t feel connected to a place or its story.
Slakthusområdet in Stockholm is a great example: the restaurants and bars feel coherent, not just the highest bidders. It takes years of careful curation and storytelling to build a sense of belonging. I love taking part in that process.
What’s the best slogan of all time?
– I don’t write slogans – I really admire people who can say so much in so few words. But if I had to pick one, I’d choose Ronseal’s from the 1990s: “It does exactly what it says on the tin.”
It was for something boring – a wood treatment product,I think, but the line was so perfect it entered everyday language in the UK. It’s now shorthand for something, or someone, that simply does what it promises.
Wich tone of voice is out in 2025?
– Anything overly familiar or heavy on emojis. I think businesses have leaned too far into internet speak. Just talk like a real person – in the way your customers actually do.
What is A House Börshuset to you?
– It’s my personal connection to Stockholm, which is a tough city to find your feet in as a newcomer. I moved from London in 2020 with my Swedish wife, so for a while her friends were my only friends. I tried a few coworking spaces but never really felt a connection to the people or the place.
When I found A House Börshuset, I loved the aesthetic and immediately felt at home with the members. It helped me carve out my own corner of the city, which made Stockholm feel like mine too.
Where in the area do you go for afterwork?
– Hosoi. I’m trying to drink less alcohol, and it’s the only place in town where the music truly takes primacy over the booze. I’ve never heard a sound system quite like it.
What can other members ask or talk to you about — and what’s your area of expertise?
– Storytelling in the broadest sense. Whether it’s a startup raising funding, a developer seeking consent for a new project, or a financial firm pursuing a new strategy, a clear story brings people with you – customers, staff or stakeholders.
I use the skills I learned in journalism to clarify strategy and align goals. You get great content at the end, but that’s just one of the benefits.